Former Kogi Speaker, Imam dumps APC for SDP

Former Kogi Speaker, Imam dumps APC for SDP

The immediate past Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Umar Ahmed Imam has left the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State for the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

Announcing his defection on Sunday in Lokoja, the former speaker said he was shut out of APC and never recognized as a party member much more of a leader down to his own ward.

Imam, who will be contesting under the SDP for the August 11th by-election to fill the vacant seat of the Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency,
said he waited for several months, hoping that the APC leadership would encourage participation of every party members in its affairs but rather the division and crisis continued.

According to him, “It is no longer news that the APC has equally imposed a candidate for the forthcoming House of representative by-election to fill in the vacancy occasioned by the death of the member representing Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency without complying with the rules of internal democracy.

“Therefore, the decision to defect from the APC is based on the foregoing and the continued fractionalization of the Party at both the National and State levels given the leadership crisis within the party.”